Freshwater

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Part I: Aquarium Basics
Expensive: Artificial decorations can cost more than the real thing.
Fish may not like them: Many species that like to nibble on plants will
not like your artificial ones.
As you can see, it’s up to you to decide what is best for your particular
lifestyle, budget, and aquatic species. Plan before you buy.
Other Aquarium Decorations
Okay, we have to admit that we have been tempted once or twice to take a
few frog statues, oversized rocks, and other decorations out of our yard and
put them in an aquarium. But this isn’t really a good practice.
Unsafe decorations can cause problems
Stuff from your yard often contains all sorts of parasites and other nasty things
that can cause disease in your tank and foul the water. And it may not be safe
to use non-aquarium rocks, wood, plastic sunflowers for standard aquarium
use because many contain harmful dyes and paints or fall apart once they sit in
water. Despite the fact that the small rotting wagon wheel would make a great
centerpiece in your 250-gallon cichlid tank, it’s not worth the trouble.
Your best bet for safe decorations is to purchase pieces from a reputable
aquarium dealer or other retail store. We can’t emphasize this important
point enough. Unsafe decorations can kill your fish, ruin your aquarium conditions,
and cost you a lot of money and heartache.
Statuettes and toys that you find around the house may contain internal
parts made of metal, which can cause destruction in a tank. Dyes and other
surface materials can produce ill affects on freshwater fish and other species.
Plastic divers and other oddities
Plastic divers (Figure 5-1), dead pirates, bobbing turtles, treasure chests,
mermaids, sunken ships that bubble, castles, nasty looking skeletons, and
mutant oysters may be fine and dandy in the safety department, but you
need to exercise a little control when buying these items or your aquarium
may end up looking like a scene from Toy Story.